Well fellow runners, I'm on the eve of my month long trip to Colorado and as many of you know includes running in Hardrock 100... which I've been assured isn't too different from the firecracker run this coming Saturday. I would just like to give thanks for the well wishes I have received from all of you, as I hear they come in handy at 13,000+ feet. There are some people in particular I have intention on thanking by name, but will save that for the race report... don't want to jinx the system. There have been some amazing runs with some amazing people leading up this, so if that part of my memory just so happens to succum to oxygen dep just know I generaly, yet whole heartedly thanked you.
Stay running my friends,
Doug Long

No pre-registration, just show up at least 45 minutes prior to the race start (6.15am), pay the $10 entry fee and be ready to run.

There will be Awards, ThemePrizes, and a BBQ Potluck after the race, so bring a snack or dish to share, a beach chair, swimsuit, sunscreen - to relax and enjoy the post-race festivities!Hotdogs, burgers, condiments, drinks, and fruit will be provided.

Theme, what theme…!?! Yes indeed, this is an American holiday, so runners that show up in the spirit of this FUN holiday event will be eligible for prizes, as deemed by the Race Day Theme Judges…. So don’t be shy, have some fun… Prize categories may include but are not limited to: Most Patriotic Runner…. Brightest Running Shorts (or shoes)…. Silliest Running Hat….Weirdest Running Outfit, etc.

The course runs from the end of the pavement past Dillingham Airfield and Camp Erdman, to where the pavement begins again on the Waianae coast side at Yokohama Bay. We will have an aid station set up at the turnaround, however we encourage all runners to carry adequate water (at least one 20 ounce bottle) during the run. It is hot out there and there is not much shade. Don't forget a hat and sunscreen.

Driving Instructions? From the North Shore, follow the signs to Mokuleia or Waialua. Follow Farrington Highway past Dillingham Airfield and Camp Erdman. After that, you will come to Kaena Point State Park on your right.

As a part of our Permit to run the FIRECRACKER at Kaena Point we have agreed to supply volunteers for work at the Kaena Point Wildlife Reserve.

Kaena Point Wildlife Reserve Needs Some Volunteer Help This Sunday!

This Volunteer Effort will take place on Sunday, June 26th, that's this Sunday. We will meet at the Parking lot at the end of the paved road BY 8:30 AM and get a ride out to the first gate . If you want to make it a part run part work effort you can come earlier and meet us at the Boulder Gate around 9:00 AM.

Bring the standard Ultra Distance gear (+plenty of water) and resources, food, plus some work gloves. Plan on working till about 1:00 PM. I'll bring a cooler of drinks and some eats.

Let's come together and show the State, the DLNR, the City and County, Na Hele, and the Reserve that we can always be relied on. It is important they all know we are reliable participants in trail and reserve maintenance as the approval process for races becomes more and more complicated.

Veteran HURTster Alex Papadopolous and I (Nick K) attempted the MDLD on Saturday. This is billed as a "largely self-supporting" 100k along the Mason Dixon trail that runs along the Susquehanna River. The idea is to start at dawn on a Saturday close to the longest day of the year and to try to finish before sunset 15 hours later. It's laid on by Hunt Bartine and Paul Melzer, and you can learn more about it here.

How difficult can this be? we thought, both having done seemingly similar runs like Miwok in around 12 hours. Well, we quickly got recalibrated. One runner posted this after the event "So here I am at work, with everyone asking - hey Glenn what happened to your face, how did your arm get all cut up, why are you limping.... so I give them the explanation of downed trees, boulders, getting lost, briars, poison ivy, stinging nettle, getting lost, snake hurdling, blisters on blisters, boulders, getting lost, taking an hour to go the last 2 miles...and their eyes just roll back. I'm working on a new explanation - car crash (seems more believable).". Seems like Glenn had more fun than Alex and I, but it captures the flavor of the event. We had plenty of getting lost - but I think the killer for me was the heat and humidity. In the end only 2 out of the 30 or so starters made it all the way through within the cut-off (neither of us, sadly), but lots of fun, and looking forward to giving it another shot sometime.

Well this weekend we are planning on heading back up to Peacock Flats to support Doug in his final preparations before heading off to the Hardrock 100. While I have not been following along much with the snow pack on the Hardrock course (you know it will be there), I know there is another race going on this Saturday that is being changed due to all the snowpack.

The Western States 100 is Saturday and some places of the course still have 8 feet of snow on it so the route is being altered. What happened to global warming?

So here are the details. Meet at 6:30 a.m. behind the Dillingham Airfield control tower. Please bring plenty of hydration--60+ ounces minimum, plus electrolytes and nutrition. You can do as much or as little as you want. Don't forget sunscreen too.

For the insomniacs, I mean early birds, a small crew is starting at the base of long road at 4:30 a.m.

The course is typically hot on the way out, shady along the Waianae side and there is usually a very nice in-your-face breeze along the return. The route is so simple that we will be doing minimal marking of the course. Keep the ocean on your right side on the way out and keep the ocean on your left side on your return. There will be some volunteers out on the course to assist with any questions.

As with all of our trail races, there is no pre-registration, just show up at least 45 minutes prior to the race start, pay the $10 entry fee and you are all set.

We plan to have a potluck after the race, so bring a dish to share, a beach chair, and sunscreen.

The route goes from the end of the pavement past Dillingham Airfield and Camp Erdman, to where the pavement begins again on the Waianae coast side of Kaena Point. We will have an aid station set up at the turnaround, however we encourage all runners to carry adequate water (at least one 20 ounce bottle) during the run. It is hot out there and there is not much shade. Don't forget a hat and sunscreen.

If you need driving instructions, click here for general instructions from the Honolulu Airport area. Drive to the end of the paved road. We will be on the ocean side. Plan on a 60 minute or full hour drive from Honolulu.Remember we ask that you show up at least 45 minutes before race start to register.

One more change for the race, Jan M. and Julie T. have agreed to step up as Race Directors this year. Barbi and I have another commitment race day.

Since we received so many complaints about the mud after last week's race, we decided to do something a bit tamer and possibly less muddy this week.

We will meet at the entrance to Ho'omaluhia Botanical Garden in Kaneohe at 6:50 a.m. with a 7:00 a.m. start time. Parking will be outside the gate on the street in the neighborhood so please keep it down so we don't wake everyone up. The plan is to run through the Garden and out the other end and up to the Pali Lookout-twice or may three times if you are speedy. If I recall, roundtrip is about 9 miles. Most of this is on road or pavement and there is water available in the Garden so plan accordingly.

After the run, we plan to drive to the picnic area at the far end of the Garden to have a potluck and say Aloha to Jake Hinz and his family as they head off to the mainland. Please bring something to share with the group.

We had near perfect conditions for Mango Madness this year: rain, trail runners, mud, sun, rain, mud, some more rain, and of course, madness out on the course! At the base of concrete hill I saw most everyone was enjoying themselves.

Great job by race directors, Julie T. and Mike M. as well as all the course marshals, aid station volunteers, course markers and HURT directors John and PJ.

The next race in the HURT Trail series is the Kaena Point Firecracker 10 Mile on July 2. There will be more information posted here soon. Expect nothing like concrete hill and traditionally there has been more dust than mud.

After months of preparing gear, testing equipment and dropping some stash the Memorial Day weekend finally arrived. Me and a couple HURT runners have made it a tradition to backpack the length of the Ko'olau Summit Trail (KST). It starts at Pupukea and ends at Kipapa trail. The Kipapa section is legally closed so will exit thru Waikane valley via Waikane trail. This year making the trip would be Ernest Tay (ET), Jim Masterson, the Fishman and me Gordon Lau dubbed the "Captain" since I was leading the way and always writing in my captains log.

Through past experiances with the KST we were all packing pretty light for a three day jaunt. Ernest had the heaviest pack since he was carrying about six liters of water. The morning of the first at Pupukea was beautiful. Cool and no rain. As we went further and climbed higher the weather started to change and it got windy and misty. The wind would stay with us for the whole trek. We bashed thru guava and uluhe fern past the Kahuku and Malaekahana trails and finally arrived at the Laie trail in the late afternoon. A short while later we reached the Kawailoa campsite. Hiking the KST is extremely slow at times. Maybe a mile an hour at best. Pitching our tents in the gusty winds was a chore.

We filtered our water from a nearby stream and made dinner. Freeze-dried meals and Ramen is the choice for KST backpackers. My favorite is the freeze-dried Lasagna! Just as the sun started to set it started to drizzle and get cold. Everyone settled in for the night. I didn't get much sleep that cold, wet and super windy night. I was glad when the sun started to light up the sky on Sunday morning. It was still cold and misty when we packed up and left Kawailoa. I had a good laugh when I came across a ribbon on the KST put up by Tom Yoza of the Hawaii Trail and Mountain Club wishing us good luck. He had come up Laie trail a week before to clear some of the trail for us. Mahalo Thomas!

The leg between Kawailoa and Poamoho is my favorite. It passes thru O'ahus pristine forest and bogs. Very close to the Hawaii hundreds of years ago. The KST thru Puu Kaainapuaa and the old Kahuku cabin area was very muddy but fully passible. When we reached the awesome lookout at the back of Kaipapau gulch we took a break from the cold and wet conditions. We shared Granola bars, trail mix and Jim's dried fish jerky.

Marv has informed me that he will need some help setting the course ribbons for the Madness Run. If you can help please meet at the Water Tank Park at 5:00PM on Friday June 10. We will divide into groups and do an upper and lower setting.

Also, Marv feels he needs about five or six Race Marshals to help the runners follow the ribbons and to guide them through the trail intersections. It would be greatly appreciated If you would sacrafice a morning to helping make this a successful and fun race for what Marv refers to as the 'physically disadvantaged', (Marv's words not mine.)

Marvelous Marv Mango here, with a few words about the greatest race of the season!! That's right gang its time for the Madness, the Mango Madness that is. And this year we are going in a new direction with the madness. This year we are getting smart. That's right, smart!

Now I know many fast people are thinking, 'What! Why do I have to be smart if I'm fast? It's a race! That should be enough! The answer to that is simple. Its my race, and being a Mango I've never been much of a speedster. This race is organized so even a smart piece of fruit can win while a fast not so smart runner has little chance. This year you will have to be smart to finish the Madness. For many of you this will be difficult. That's the breaks.

Carry a minimum of two 24 oz water bottles. (60 oz.) (There will be two aid stations, the first about three miles in and the second far beyond that.)

Carry electrolytes. (Runners crave electrolytes and they make runners go)

Familiarize yourself with the routes that various races follow along this trail system.

Come prepared to be tested.

Be prepared to follow very complicated instructions. (Like 'run to the three-way and take a right')

Be prepared to be on well defined trails where you may or may not see a piece of tape to guide you.

This year you will have to follow these insturctions . For most of you this will prove very difficult, (Since you already think you know everything and don't need to listen to a ripe piece of fruit.)

You Must return via the Manoa Cliffs trail, the Moleka trail, the Makiki Valley trail (Cross-Over), and the Kanealole Trail. (Your option on the order.) Failure to do so will be a disqualification from placement and will entitle everyone to snicker behind your back and you won't be allowed to havy anything but warm water and dry moldy bread at the end of the race.

A great race is planned for Saturday.

Lots of food and drinks!

Lots of prizes.

Lots of fun and laughs.

A great trail.

A good challenge.

Something for every one no matter what your ability!

Come prepared to be tested!

Come ready to have fun!

Phony Guarantee:

Expect no surprises this year, just as with other years. It will be the standard plus 10+ mile race. where the fast people get all the prizes and the best food and the bums get the refreshment table leftovers. It will be the typical fasty-style feel good race, run by clocks and made for quantifiable lists for counting the minutes of the morning down to the last few seconds.

Directions:

H1 to Punahou (from the west) to Wilder (from east).

Punahou to Nehoa.

Left on Nehoa. Nehoa to Makiki Street.

Right on Makiki Street. Makiki Street to Makiki Heights Drive.

Left onto Makiki Heights Drive. You are there. (This is not difficult! No maps, no gps fixes, no face book guides needed. (so don't ask.)